Kevin Rodney Sullivan (born August 3, 1958) is an American film and television actor and film director.

Early life and acting career

Sullivan is a native of San Francisco who began his career as a child actor. He grew up in St. Francis Square in the Fillmore district of San Francisco as the youngest of three children. His father was a bus driver, and his mother was a receptionist for the St. Mary's hospital. According to Sullivan, he was "one step up from a housing project".Fenjves, Pablo F., and Rocky Lang. ''How I Broke into Hollywood: Success Stories from the Trenches''. New York: Regan, 2006. Print. During sixth grade while performing '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Sullivan's talents were picked up by Ann Brebner, who placed him and his entire class as extras in a movie by Sidney Poitier, '' They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!'' in 1970. This was his first experience with cinema. Brebner would continue to give him auditions for various roles. In 1970, he was picked up for a job in an Alpha-Bits Cereal commercial, making over $7,000 off of that role alone. He continued to obtain small roles in theater productions and doing commercials. Most notably, He got a role as the Master of Ceremonies during a show of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'' that was being filmed live at Golden Gate Park. He was made to "sit on this big garbage can with a microphone and introduce the various skits," with

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

controlling the puppets. Sullivan then went on to get a part in a movie called '' Thumb Tripping'', with

Meg Foster Margaret Foster is an American film and television actress. Some of her many roles were in the 1979 TV miniseries version of ''The Scarlet Letter'', and the films ''Ticket to Heaven'', ''The Osterman Weekend'', and '' They Live''. Early years F ...

, following which he got a part in a series called '' Wee Pals on the Go''. The series was based on a comic strip by

Morrie Turner Morris Nolton Turner (December 11, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an American cartoonist, creator of the strip ''Wee Pals'', the first American syndicated strip with an integrated cast of characters. Biography Turner was raised in Oakland, Ca ...

and featured an integrated neighborhood. He played the part of Randy, "a kid with a big afro who loved sports," according to Sullivan. For Christmas, the producer of that series gave Sullivan his first 8-millimeter camera with which he first experimented in film. He acquired a scholarship to St. Ignatius College Preparatory, which was a Jesuit all-boys high school located in the Sunset District of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. "The school had 1,200 boys, only forty of them were black," according to Sullivan. At St. Ignatius, Sullivan was challenged in his class work for the first time, and because of his race, was barred from the theater program as well. "I felt out of place and no one tried to make me feel otherwise," Says Sullivan. At one point he joined the Young Conservatory of the American Theater, located in downtown San Francisco. As a senior at St. Ignatius, he convinced the theater department to allow him to direct ''

Ceremonies in Dark Old Men A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

'', by

Lonne Elder Lonne Elder III (December 26, 1927 – June 11, 1996) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. Elder was one of the leading African American figures who informed the New York theater world with social and political consciousness. ...

; and following this, the school asked him to be the lead in a production of '' The Tea House of the August Moon''. Due to his successes in his acting career, Sullivan applied to the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York, which emphasizes the arts. John Houseman, who had at the time recently received an Oscar for his role in '' The Paper Chase'', was his interviewer. Houseman's comments on Sullivan's abilities at the time were thus: "You have talent, but you're only seventeen years old. Most of our students come here after four years of college. I don't think you're ready for New York City just yet". And so, Sullivan ended up at

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

in Salem, Oregon instead, where he was offered a scholarship through their theater program. He applied to be an

English major English studies (usually called simply English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries; it is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is ...

, as he was growing increasingly interested in writing. "I was a whale in a fish bowl," says Sullivan, who was quite overqualified for the college's theater program. He ended up being the lead, Proteus, in '' Two Gentlemen of Verona'', for which he had only auditioned as a supporting role. Sullivan was in quite a few plays following that, and was chosen by the school to direct a production of ''Slow Dance on the Killing Ground'', a play by

William Hanley William Hanley (October 22, 1931 – May 25, 2012) was an American playwright, novelist, and scriptwriter, born in Lorain, Ohio. Hanley wrote plays for the theatre, radio and television and published three novels in the 1970s. He was related t ...

. He then decided to produce a play of his own creation, leaving the school to do it as an independent study. He never went back. In the summer of 1987, Sullivan left for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He began by working with a friend and fellow actor in Hollywood. From there he began to write scripts. On a particular four-day trip to DC, he picked up inspiration for characters in his later works from fellow passengers on his ride who he'd spent time talking to. While his scripts were largely unnoticed, his trip would inspire later works. In the meantime, however, his acting was noticed after he auditioned for small parts in a few movies, including as Lieutenant in ''

More American Graffiti ''More American Graffiti'' is a 1979 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Bill L. Norton, produced by Howard Kazanjian. It is the sequel to the 1973 film ''American Graffiti''. Whereas the first film followed a group of frie ...

'' (1979), Tyrone in '' Night Shift'' (1982), March in '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' (1982), and John Grant in ''

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'', often shortened to ''Buckaroo Banzai'', is a 1984 American science fiction film produced and directed by W. D. Richter and written by Earl Mac Rauch. It stars Peter Weller in the ti ...

'' (1984).

Early screenwriting

At the age of twenty-two when he was able to sell a television script for the first time, it was for an episode of '' Fame'' for the ABC network. This connection to ABC allowed him to write the TV drama series ''

Knightwatch ''Knightwatch'' is an American drama television series that aired on ABC from November 10, 1988 until January 19, 1989 as part of its fall 1988 lineup. It had been promoted as an original series in light of summer reruns continuing into the fa ...

'' in 1988. In 1992, Sullivan directed the pilot for a television series on ABC entitled ''Moe's World'', which is a story narrated by a kid who has been killed in a car crash. The story "tackled" topics such as teenage pregnancy and death as well as other topics that tend to affect teenagers today. However, while ABC bought the pilot, the show was never picked up by that network.

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

considered purchasing the show as well, but did not follow through. Despite that minor setback, this background allowed Sullivan to jump into directing movies for HBO: the short film "Long Black Song", which was one of three in the ''

America's Dream ''America's Dream'' is a 1996 American made-for-television drama film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, Bill Duke, and Paris Barclay, and written by Ron Stacker Thompson and Ashley Tyler. It is based on the short stories "Long Black Song" by Ri ...

'' (1996) anthology movie, and ''

Soul of the Game ''Soul of the Game'' (also known as ''Field of Honour'') is a 1996 television film about Negro league baseball. The film stars Blair Underwood as Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo as Satchel Paige, Mykelti Williamson as Josh Gibson, and Harvey W ...

'' (1996). The later was a docudrama on how African Americans "broke the baseball color barrier" which follows the "triumphant and tragic stories" of Jackie Robinson,

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

, and

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the se ...

as they make their way out of the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

, and into the Majors. Ribowsky, Mark. ''Josh Gibson: the Power and the Darkness''. Urbana: University of Illinois, 2004. Print. "For African Americans in this century," Sullivan told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' regarding ''Soul of the Game'', "one man's victory is often the result of others paving the way, sometimes making the triumph both bitter and sweet". The movie was eventually pulled from air and is no longer available on television. Sullivan's successes presented him with many opportunities, including the ability to collaborate with George Lucas on ''

Red Tails ''Red Tails'' is a 2012 American war film directed by Anthony Hemingway in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. The film is about the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American United States ...

'', a story about the

Tuskegee airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army ...

, a famous African American Aerial unit from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

; as well as with

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (born July 21, 1926) is a retired Canadian film and television director, producer, and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. He has directed numerous feature films and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...

on an adaptation of ''The Good Times Are Killing Me''.Kevin Rodney Sullivan - Filmbug
Kevin Rodney Sullivan In addition to these series, Sullivan also produced ''

Frank's Place ''Frank's Place'' is an American comedy-drama series that aired on CBS for 22 episodes during the 1987-1988 television season. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive produced by Wilson and series star and fellow ''WKRP in Cincinn ...

'' (1987), ''

I'll Fly Away "I'll Fly Away" is a hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled ''Wonderful Message''.Richard Matteson, Jr.''The Bluegrass Picker's Tune Book'' Mel Bay Publications, 2006 ...

'' (1991), ''Boy Meets Girl'' (1993), and ''Cosmic Slop'' (1994), before his first major production.

Major film productions

The movie ''

How Stella Got Her Groove Back ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, adapted from Terry McMillan's best-selling 1996 novel of the same title. The film stars Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs (in his film ...

'' (1998) swept the

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

, won the award for Outstanding Picture and was Kevin Rodney Sullivan's Hollywood

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. The movie was based on a popular novel at the time, and follows the story of Stella (played by Angela Bassett) who is a single mother of one who finds love in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

with a man much younger than her named Winston (played by

Taye Diggs Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (born January 2, 1971) is an American stage and film actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals '' Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series '' Private Practice'' (2007-2013), ''Murder in th ...

). It also had other notable stars such as

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

, who plays Stella's best friend in the movie. Donalson, Melvin Burke. Black Directors in Hollywood. Austin, TX: University of Texas, 2003. Print. The film, while not the first to use a tropic paradise as its background, "may be the first to blatantly portray a tropical paradise as a sexual mecca beckoning tired American businesswomen to shed their clothes and inhibitions," according to a review by ''

''.FILM REVIEW - FILM REVIEW - He Likes Video Games? Nobody's Perfect - Review - NYTimes.com
''The New York Times''. By Stephen Holden Despite some mixed reviews, Sullivan still "provides a movie that speaks in a recognizable way to a black audience, particularly black women who have found themselves omitted from serious screen depiction over the decades". Sullivan's next major production was ''

Conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is cons ...

'' (2002), based on the autobiography of Carl Upchurch entitled ''Convicted in the Womb''. The movie wrestles with race relations, and issues pertaining to jail and gang violence, as well as the use of derogatory terms towards people of African descent. The main character, after being reformed in jail goes on a mission to help lower youth violence in America, by inviting all the largest gang's leaders to a church meeting about violence. Upchurch himself had a cameo within the movie as a jail cell guard. He then went on to produce '' Barbershop 2: Back in Business'' (2004), which was a sequel to the original '' Barbershop'' (2002), with the entire original cast returning with some additions. Notable cast members include: Ice Cube,

Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is ...

Anthony Anderson Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ...

, and a brief cameo by

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

in promotion of her own spinoff of the Barbershop franchise. The latest major film production by Kevin Sullivan was '' Guess Who'' (2005); the idea for the movie was originally a collaborative effort by

Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a ...

and

Bernie Mac Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor. Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined fell ...

. As Kutcher explained in an interview about his choice of directors, "I had a conversation with Kevin before we started the movie. And the reason that I liked Kevin -- we picked Kevin to do the movie, Bernie and I did, because what he knew the movie needed was heart. And he was more concerned about the heart than the comedy".Ashton Kutcher Interview - Punk'd, Guess Who, That 70s Show
Hollywood Movies: An Interview with Ashton Kutcher The movie focuses on a young white man (played by Kutcher) attempting to marry an African American woman, while trying to seek the approval of her overprotective father (played by Bernie Mac). Working with Sullivan did have its impact upon the film, as Kutcher explains, "Well, working for Kevin Sullivan was a very different experience for me. Kevin didn't just let us go. At no point in time did Kevin just let us go... And I think that that brought a different performance for each of us from what we'd done before". The movie received mostly mixed reviews.

Recent screenwriting

In the four years between ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' and ''Conviction'', Sullivan wrote and collaborated with the producers of ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'' (2000), which followed a fictional

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

staff about on various fictional activities. Sullivan then developed a pilot for the series ''

Watching Ellie ''Watching Ellie'' is an American television sitcom that stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and was created by her husband, Brad Hall and aired on NBC from February 26, 2002 to May 20, 2003. Sixteen episodes were broadcast before it was canceled due to lo ...

'' (2002), and wrote some scripts for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' (2002) which was a crime drama that ran for two seasons. Following the release of ''Conviction'', he began working on scripts for ''The Henry Lee Project'' (2003). This series followed a veteran policeman turned private detective. The part of the policeman was played by notable actor Danny Glover. The most notable of his recent screenplays is '' 30 Rock'' (2008), which has received national acclaim and many awards including Emmy awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2009. The show was renewed by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

for a sixth season in 2010.

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

was the original project writer, and created the storyline to be based on her own life story. Sullivan collaborated with three other producers, including Alec Baldwin on this show, especially on the second season. However, despite winning awards for being an outstanding comedy, ''30 Rock'' has been chronically underrated throughout its six seasons of being on air, with a viewership of nearly 5.3 million viewers.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1979) - Lieutenant * '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' (1982) - March * '' Night Shift'' (1982) - Tyrone * ''The Facts of Life'' (1983, TV Series) - Marshall Ramsey * ''

'' (1984) - John Gant * ''

'' (1987, TV Series) * ''

'' (1988, TV Series) * ''Moe's World'' (1990) * ''

'' (1991, TV Series) * '' Boy Meets Girl'' (1993) * ''Cosmic Slop'' (1994) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2000, TV Series) * ''

'' (2002, TV Series) * ''

'' (2002) * ''The Henry Lee Project'' (2003, TV Series) * '' Barbershop 2: Back in Business'' (2004) * '' Guess Who'' (2005) * '' 30 Rock'' (2008, TV series) * '' Lincoln Heights'' (2009, TV series) * '' Eastwick'' (2010, TV series) * ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...

'' (2010, TV series) * '' NCIS'' (2011, TV series) * ''

Anger Management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...

'' (2013, TV series) * ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'' (2016–18, TV series) * ''

How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal thriller television series that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Shonda Rhimes and ABC Studios ...

'' (2016, TV series) * '' Notorious'' (2016, TV series) * ''

Being Mary Jane ''Being Mary Jane'' is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union, that debuted January 7, 2014 on BET. The 90-minute-pilot for the series aired on July 2, 2013. The series follows the professiona ...

'' (2017, TV series) * ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' (2017, TV series) * '' Quantico'' (2018, TV series) * '' Riverdale'' (2017–18, TV series) * ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

'' (2018–19, TV series) * ''

You In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

'' (2019, TV series) * ''

Evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

'' (2019, TV series) * ''

This Is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American family drama television series that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and their three children, in several different time frames. It s ...

'' (2021, TV series) ** Episode #79: " There" * ''Rise'' (TBD, film)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Kevin Rodney 1958 births African-American film directors African-American television directors Film producers from California American male screenwriters American television directors Film directors from San Francisco Living people Screenwriters from California 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people